Engine out of car, cleaning ideas?

[Insomniac13]

So I've got my junkyard 7 bolt on the bench, front case is off as well as oil pan. Midway through deleting balance shafts, did the water pump, timing belt kit just came in the mail. Now, before I put this all back together, how can I clean this thing out? I know about seafoam once the car runs, but does anyone have recommendations for cleaning an engine that's out of the car? I want to clean it out because it's a junkyard engine with an unknown history. I've also sanded several gasket surfaces down to make them smoother, and I want to insure that there's no metal flakes in there.

 

[Insomniac13]

Tomorrow I'm putting the engine all back together and putting it on the stand, I'm gonna fill it with diesel fuel and crank it over by hand a couple times a day for a week. That should get a good amount of that sludge out, and keep it lubricated too. Just wondering now if I should add some oil to it to thicken it up. Will post results once it's done.

 

[pauleyman]

If youre disassbling the whole thing just have it hot tanked.

 

[boost97gst]

Shit dude, get that thing tanked like pauley said!! What the hell is going on? You can cause more harm than good if you're not careful. If you're gonna clean it then CLEAN it, meaning have a machinist take everything apart and even the balls on the crank.

If you even have worries about metal flakes in the engine all the more reason to send it to a machinist. Its worth the extra few bucks. Trust me. Good luck and lets see it when its put back together

 

[Insomniac13]

I only have it taken apart enough to do a balance shaft elimination. It's a junkyard engine that ran, and I want to leave 100% stock, I just want to clean up what I can. When the sanding was performed all areas were taped off and covered in plastic except those being sanded so I'm 100% certain that there is no metal in the crank case, I'm just trying to be extra certain. I just want to clean the sludge out now rather than get it running and using Seafoam, but if that's the easier route I'll take that one.

EDIT: I don't want to come off as rude or cheap, I just don't believe it's necessary for me to hot tank the engine because it seems to have been very well maintained before it went to the junkyard. I'm only concerned with removing the sludge, everything else has or will be taken care of. I'm in no rush and have no problem sinking money into this build, I just want it to work well. If truly the only safe alternative to remove the built up sludge is hot tanking, I'll do it. I'd just rather not fully disassemble a 100% stock engine to rebuild it 100% stock again.

 

[boost97gst]

I see your point. I also hate spending $ on a useless service. But bringing a machinist the shortblock and head is a wise move. He can spec everything while hes in there and make sure its all kosher. Then you have the ultimate peace of mind when you first crank it over. Nothing hurts more than doing all that work and hearing a knock knock knock at 100,200 miles. It stings. Been there man.

I cant add anything else but i do believe your idea of diesel fuel would remove any sludge for sure. Im sure there are other products to use as well. Perhaps someone who has thoroughly cleaned a block/head in a garage and had success will offer some tips. Either way let us know if you end up DIY or machinist and how it turns out if you do a DIY clean.

 

[Insomniac13]

I'll surely update, I've cleaned a few engines with diesel fuel or cleaning products before and they've all turned out positive. Thank you for your input, you've actually convinced me to get a factory service manual and check all of the tolerances out myself! Between the Haynes manual and the FSM I should be able to find and check all of them. Thanks again.

 

[mercaholik]

With the correct measuring tools of course, it does make a difference. For instance you can't measure cylinder out of round or taper without the right size telescoping bore gauge and micrometer. So that's an investment if you don't already have some decent ones. I'm a diy kinda guy but it may be cheaper to have the machine shop check it all out.

 

[Insomniac13]

Trust me I wouldn't do anything without the right tools. I've got everything needed, and if I don't my buddy's machine shop does
Didn't get to clean the engine out today, had to do some work. Did get the shell up in the yard though, so it's ready for the engine to be dropped in once I'm done.

 

[mercaholik]

Nice, your lucky to have a buddy with a machine shop, man there are a couple things I wanna try . Looks like your all set, you gonna use new bearings and rings?

 

[Insomniac13]

Cleaned the block today, went really well. Scrubbing and diesel fuel can fix almost anything, I'm convinced of it haha. Going ahead with the rebuild once I get my rear main seal and oil strainer gasket. I'm not doing rings or bearings because when I inspected them they all seemed perfect, and compression was within factory spec. If I get it running and it needs new rings and bearings it'll be getting new rods and pistons to go with them

I plan on using this engine to drive the car around and weed out all of the other problems it may have, I want the chassis to be perfect before I dump big money into the engine. Picked up this junkyard block just to get her moving while I build my spare, and I must say it feels awesome to be another step along the way there

I'd post before and after pictures but my flip phone camera really makes it difficult to tell you're even looking at an engine

And yeah, a friend with a shop is awesome, but I try not to annoy him and ask for his stuff all the time, so nine times out of ten I wind up buying my own tools instead of borrowing his xP